Cancerwise

Oscar Ruiz’s home is decorated with many photos he’s taken, from
architectural shots and scenes he’s encountered during his travels to
images from everyday life, especially during his postdoctoral
fellowship in Portugal.

So, he isn’t just talking about the photos of zebrafish embryos he
takes while researching epithelial tissues when he says, “I take
pictures all the time.”

A stem cell transplant patient recently returned to MD Anderson for a
follow-up visit with sore ribs. But he wasn’t relapsing or
experiencing complications from leukemia. The middle-aged construction
worker had fallen at work a few months before.

“This is someone who, five years ago, had relapsed acute leukemia,
complicated by liver problems and pneumonia. He was barely able to
walk to his appointments, much less do manual labor...